Sheikh Saqr bin Mohamed Al Qasimi became the ruler of the Sheikhdom of Ras Al Khaimah on 17 July1948, after a bloodless takeover from his uncle and father-in-law Shaykh Sultan bin Salim al-Qassimi who was exiled to the Sheikhdom of Sharjah. Shaykh Saqr appointed his oldest son, Sheikh Khalid bin Saqr Al Qasimi, as the Crown Prince of Ras Al Khaimah in 1974. Shaikh Khalid was replaced by Shaikh Saud bin Saqr on 28 April2003, and Khalid chose the Omani capital Muscat for his unconditional exile. The elderly Shaykh Saqr is one of the longest serving rulers in the world today, but no longer actively rules Ras Al Khaimah because of poor health. Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr currently plays the most active role in ruling Ras Al Khaimah.

Shaikh Saqr refused to permit Ras Al Khaimah to join the

United Arab Emirates (UAE) when it was formed on 2 December1971, because he claims Iran had invaded two Ras Al Khaimah islands and one Sharjah island on November 30, 1970, and Shaikh Saqr wanted guarantees from the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan and the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum of Dubai that the new UAE Federal Government would not relinquish claim to those islands (Abu Musa & the Greater and Lesser Tunbs). When the guarantee was granted, RAK joined the Federation of the United Arab Emirates on 24 February1972.

After the 1948 coup, Sheikh Saqr had to gather the whole people of Ras Al Khaimah under his rule, and deal with the Bedouins (the People of the Deserts) from the south, the low land Mountaineers from the east, and a combination of Highlands Shihuhs and other tribes from the north, who had disagreed with the coup. This resulted in Sheikh Saqr's followers fighting those who opposed his rule. During that period, many people died fighting without knowing whom they were fighting against, as they did not know that Shaikh Sultan Bin Salem Al Qassimi had been exiled to Sharjah.

After Shaikh Saqr gained complete control on the whole country of Ras Al Khaimah, and in order to avoid further bloodshed among the tribes, he appointed Shaikhs (heads of tribes) in each tribe to keep each people within their area. The tribal Shaikh was the coordinator between the Ruler and the people of Ras Al Khaimah, and none of the tribes had the right to meet with the Ruler without the permission of its Shaikh. This system was set up to ease previous tensions and facilitate the affairs of the tribes. While the influence of the tribes has weakened since Ras Al Khaimah joined the United Arab Emirates in 1972 (the last country to join), the local Government still respects the Shaikhs of each tribe for their loyalty.

I have only one sure: Ras Al Khaimah is now a great place to live and to Invest and could be one of the best places in the world for tourism. That's why we did a company there called RAK EDIGAIA with H.H. Sheikh Mohamed Bin Saqr Al Qasimi as partner.

Wednesday, 29 July 2009

I found an interview with a good explication about Ramadan. I post here to explain to European people what is this month for the Muslims.

Last week local teenager Salam El-Merebi joined Suzanne Quintner and Kelly Higgins-Devine in the 612 ABC Brisbane studio to explain the Muslim holy month of fasting and spiritual cleansing.

Ramadan is an Arabic word that comes from the root word 'Ar-Ramad' which means dryness or heat and is the fourth pillar of Islam. The month of fasting, in the ninth month of the Hijri (lunar) calendar, begins with the sighting of the new moon and ends with the waning crescent. Because the lunar calendar is 11 or 12 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, Ramadan is 10 to 11 days earlier each year.

The main physical implication of Ramadan is fasting, which means no eating or drinking from dawn until sunset. Depending on your region and the season, this could be anywhere from 12 to 17 hours each day. The object of fasting is to attain taqwa- a consciousness of God and self discipline.

But there is more to Ramadan than not eating. "It doesn't only [apply] on water and drinks, it [applies] on thoughts as well. So you're not supposed to think bad of others, you're not supposed to speak behind each others' backs. You have to treat everyone good and equally and nicely. All these things that a religion already asks but in Ramadan it is a must, you know, no matter what. You're not supposed to swear, all of that. It's like purifying your soul as well, and mind," Salam explains.

Children are excluded from fasting until they reach puberty, but may participate if they want to. All practising adult Muslims are expected to participate in Ramadan but Salam says there are some exceptions. "There's a lot of circumstances. A pregnant woman, she doesn't have to do it if she doesn't want to. Anyone who cannot do it for a reason like being mentally or physically unable, then they don't have to do it. For a female who's going through her monthly period, she doesn't have to do it as well, just for the seven or eight days that she has the period." People travelling long distances and women who are breast-feeding are also excluded.

Fasting is said to help Muslim's understand the hardship of being poor and hungry. "You would say 'I have no idea how people can survive with no food'. There's a lot of villages that don't have water as well, that's one of the reasons why we don't have water, to understand. At the end of the day we'll know that we'll have that food and that cup of water sitting there waiting for us, but they know that they are not going to have it. So it's actually also a feeling [of being] poor."

Despite Kelly's concerns about the difficulty of not eating all day, Salam claims it is not particularly hard and that the body does get used to it.

Ramadan ends with the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr, a day of celebration and gratitude which Salam likens to Christmas in some ways.

Salam El-Merebi was a finalist for the Community Services Award in the Queensland Young Achiever Award.

The Mother of the UAE Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, the Honorary Chairwoman of the UAE Business Women Council, received a telegram of thanks and gratitude from the members of the UAE Business Women Council at the conclusion of their first meeting that was held at the UAE FCCI offices in Dubai.. The members thanked her Highness for her generous support of the UAE woman in all aspects of life.

The members elected for the UAE Business Women Board of Directors for the third session 2009-2011 elected her Excellency Sheikha Dr. Hend Bint Abdull Azziz Al Qassimi chairman of the Board of Directors of the UAE Business Women council and her Excellency Fatima Obeid Al Jaber, first deputy, her Excellency Kaltham Abdullah, deputy to the Chairwoman. The election process embodied the success of the election that was carried out to elect the members of the board on the 12th of January.

Mrs. Fatima Al Merri, the General Coordinator of the Council, inaugurated the first meeting of the board of directors with a welcoming speech. She welcomed the new members who were elected and wished them success in highlighting the role of the Council. Al Merri also lauded the efforts that were exerted by the former board Business Women council for the session 2005-2008 and particularly the efforts of Dr. Rawdha Abdullah Al Mutawa. She reiterated that the UAE business women ,thanks to the unlimited support of the UAE leadership and the support of her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak (Mother of the UAE , the Honorary Chairwoman of the UAE Business Women Council, have become equal to their brothers the men in all rights and privileges. The council have played a major role in making this possible as is seen by its founding principles.

The members of the UAE Business Women council board are volunteers and will shoulder the burden of serving our beloved country and highlight the bright image of the UAE business women. Al Merri added that the UAE Business Women Council, operating under the umbrella of the UAE FCCI, is a special authority that includes a diverse but harmonious texture of members in terms of the age group and business interests but are all marked with a determination to work and serve the country.

Friday, 24 July 2009

Sheikh Mohamed Al Maktoum rarely gives interviews but in these videos he offers a glimpse into his life, work and dreams for Dubai and his Emirati people.

Sheikh Mohamed Al Maktoum: Interview to GULFNEWS in October 17, 2007

Dubai: Dubai should be "number one," not only in the region but in the world, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has said.

"I want to be number one in everything, higher education, health, housing," he told the US television network CBS in an interview aired on Sunday.

Shaikh Mohammad promised to provide the highest standards of living to people in the UAE. "Why not? If you can have it in New York, why can't we have it here?" he said.

In the wide-ranging interview onn the famous 60 Minutes show, the Vice-President discussed the extraordinary rise of Dubai and his vision of the emirate for the future. Asked why he was in a hurry to achieve for Dubai in five years what most would try to achieve in a lifetime, Shaikh Mohammad indicated that the emirate could not afford to wait. "I want my people to live better now ... not after 20 years."

He also criticised US foreign policy, especially the invasion of Iraq - which he said was a mistake. He said he loved everything about America, "except the foreign policy a little bit".

Ahmed bin Majid (أحمد بن ماجد‎), was an Arab navigator and cartographer born in 1421 in Julphar, which is now known as Ras Al Khaimah. This city makes up one of the seven Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, but at that time it was classified as the coast of Oman. He was raised with a family famous for seafaring; at the age of 17 he was able to navigate ships. He was so famous that he was known as the first Arab seaman. The exact date is not known, but bin Majid probably died in 1500. He became famous in the West as thenavigator who has been associated with helpingVasco da Gama find his way from Africa to India using an Arab map then unknown to European sailors.

Ahmad ibn Majid was born in Oman, probably in 1432, the year Zheng He’s junks docked at Jiddah. The last of his approximately 40 known compositions, a poem on the heavens, is dated 1500, the same year Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered Brazil on his way to India by way of the Cape of Good Hope—thus linking Europe, the New World, Africa and Asia in a single voyage. Ibn Majid must have died soon after that date, his life spanning the most critical century in the history of the ocean whose currents, winds, reefs, shoals, headlands, harbors, seamarks and stars he spent a lifetime studying.

Vasco da Gama’s epochal voyage around the Cape of Good Hope in 1498 has often been presented as the irruption of a dynamic, technologically advanced western power into an essentially static and backward Asia. Yet the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean worlds in the late 15th century were both responding to common historical forces. When Vasco da Gama’s ship landed in Calicut in 1499 and the two worlds met, it was the visitors from the West who were at an economic and cultural disadvantage, only partially offset by their superior weapons. The Zamorin of Calicut, when showed the gifts brought by the Portuguese—the little bells and beads and the rough cloth—concluded that the Portuguese came from a poor and backward country, and advised them that, next time, they should bring gold. This they did—but even that came not from Portugal, but from Africa.

Tuesday, 21 July 2009

TROPICAL LINE INVESTMENT, LLC (in Dubai) and GULF – Consulting & Investment, Lda. are companies that emerges from the good relation of trust between Oliveira’s family from EDIGAIA (in Portugal) and some influent people from United Arab Emirates like H.H. Sheikh Mohamed Al Qasimi, son of the Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah (H.H. Sheikh Saqr Al Qasimi), H.H. Sheikha Hind Al Qasimi, Chairwoman of Emirates Business Women Council (from Sharjah), Mr. Mohamed Hassan, Businessman in Dubai and Cairo, and Chairman of Master Sports company. With their help giving the right and influent contacts and with our good team of economists, attorneys, engineers, architects and businessmen, with a long and good experience, specially in Portugal, Switzerland and Arab countries, we can provide a full service from the beginning till the end.

The Middle East, one of the most strategic regions of the world, has started looking beyond oil and gas, which has opened up several economic opportunities – urbanization, tourism, trade, industrialization, social infrastructure and others. “TROPICAL LINE INVESTMENT” and “GULF – Consulting & Investments” are set up with the objective of providing General Trading and/or a complete domain of business consulting services to enterprise and entrepreneurs in GCC countries, Egypt and other Arab countries but especially on United Arab Emirates. The Company aims to provide international standard services through an extremely capable team having long experience in Emirates and abroad. The company is also desirous of making positive contribution in the development of the country by working closely with both public as well as private entities.

Our objective is help European people to establish a company, invest or export to GCC countries, Egypt and other Arab countries, especially to the Emirates, and help people from those countries to establish a company, invest or export to Europe, especially to Portugal.

Rak Edigaia had is constitution on 27th May 2008 in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah - U.A.E. - between H.H Sheikh Mohammed Al Qassimi and José Oliveira.

This company pretends be a way for the sustain development of Ras Al Khaimah and it´s people.

That’s why we choose our slogan: “If a wind blows, ride it” For RAK EDIGAIA this slogan means “If a chance comes, take advantage of it”. That’s our company politic: help the country and people development.

We pretend do the Ras Al Khaimah the greatest place in the World for people who don’t know RAK because it already is for the people who already came here!